Bitterness in chanterelles: why mushrooms are bitter after frying, cooking, freezing, what to do in this case
Recognizable by their bright appearance, chanterelles are excellent mushrooms due to their taste. These fruit bodies can be subjected to any processing: fry, boil, salt, freeze, pickle and dry. Although chanterelles and bitterness are inseparable concepts, after heat treatment, the pulp of the mushrooms becomes fragrant, tender and amazingly tasty.
Many novice mushroom pickers ask themselves: why chanterelles are bitter and what to do to remove this bitterness? I must say that these mushrooms are unique, because they are not eaten by worms and insects, which means that they remain intact and not spoiled. The reason for this is precisely the bitterness of the pulp, which adversely affects all parasites.
It is worth saying that cleaning and any heat treatment of chanterelles should be carried out on the very day when the crop is harvested. Any delay for a long time can lead to the accumulation of harmful toxins in the mushrooms, which can harm human health.
In this article, you can get an exhaustive answer to the question of why chanterelle mushrooms are bitter, as well as familiarize yourself with proven methods that help remove this unpleasant feature.
Why are chanterelles bitter after freezing and what to do if mushrooms are bitter during defrosting?
Why are chanterelles bitter after freezing and what to do to fix it? Indeed, taking frozen mushrooms out of the freezer in winter, sometimes you can find a little bitterness. If you do not pay attention to this immediately, the prepared dish may be spoiled.
So, why after defrosting chanterelle mushrooms are bitter, and what rules should you follow to avoid this? In order for the unpleasant bitter taste to be absent after defrosting, the following recommendations are observed before harvesting:
- Mushrooms are cleared of forest debris, earth or sand and immediately cut off rotten areas.
- Rinse thoroughly with plenty of water, stirring by hand.
- Pour in cold water and leave for 1.5-2 hours.
- Drain the water, put the mushrooms on a wire rack and leave for 20-30 minutes to drain.
- After that, the chanterelles are distributed in plastic bags or food containers and placed in the freezer.
Why are frozen chanterelles bitter and how to remove bitterness from thawed mushrooms?
But sometimes, even despite the observance of the rules, frozen chanterelles are bitter, why? It would be better to boil the mushrooms after soaking so that the bitterness is gone for sure.
Another factor why frozen chanterelles remain bitter is harvest time. In the dry mushroom season, bitterness is always present in mushrooms, which is difficult to remove by soaking.
How can you remove the bitterness from frozen chanterelles if they were prepared raw?
- After thawing, the mushrooms are dipped in boiling water and cooked for 10-15 minutes over low heat.
- You can add 1 tbsp to the water. l. salt and 2-3 pinches of citric acid. Such actions will help remove the bitter taste from the fruit bodies.
In addition, heat treatment will give you confidence that the workpiece will not deteriorate after accidentally defrosting the freezer. It should be added that boiled chanterelles become more compact and take up less space in the freezer than raw ones.
How else can you remove the bitterness from chanterelles after freezing?
How to remove bitterness from chanterelles after freezing in another interesting way? Frozen fresh mushrooms are delicious when used as a soup or added to fried potatoes. But there are problem situations when mushrooms are bitter. Therefore, after freezing, the fruiting bodies are thawed for a start.Next, the question arises, how to remove the bitterness from thawed chanterelles so that the dish prepared from them does not lose the mushroom taste and aroma? In this case, the mushrooms are blanched in boiling salted water for 5-7 minutes, after having laid them out in a colander after thawing.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is best to freeze only young specimens of chanterelles that have not fully straightened their hats. Such fruit bodies have practically no bitter taste and contain more nutrients and vitamins in their composition than overripe ones.
Many experienced housewives prefer to freeze chanterelles directly in the mushroom broth in which they were cooked. Note that this method is convenient, because in the future the mushrooms are used immediately after being removed from the freezer without preliminary defrosting. Prepared first courses from such a preparation turn out to be incredibly tasty.
However, it happens that even in the broth, mushrooms have a slightly bitter taste. Why are chanterelles bitter after cooking and how to fix the situation?
- The blank for the first courses is thawed, the broth is drained, and the mushrooms are washed under a tap with cold water.
- Pour in a little water, adding one onion, cut into 4 pieces, and boil for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- They are thrown in a colander, allowed to drain and proceed to further processing processes.
How to get rid of the bitterness in chanterelles after boiling?
After preliminary boiling, the chanterelles remain bitter, what should I do in this case? There may be several reasons for this: for example, the individual characteristic of the fruit bodies, the presence of toxins in the pulp, as well as improper processing.
The natural bitter taste of chanterelles can complicate the technology and increase the duration of cooking. But thanks to this bitterness, the appearance of the fruit bodies is practically not spoiled by pests that do not like bitter food.
It is worth saying that although the bitterness of mushrooms does not harm human health, many do not like this taste. Therefore, in order to get rid of the bitter taste of the chanterelles during boiling, salt, citric acid, bay leaves, clove buds and allspice are added to the water. After the first cooking for 5-8 minutes, the water is drained and poured with a new one. Boil again, but without adding salt and spices.
In addition, there is a way that simplifies the task and shows how to get rid of the bitterness in chanterelles. After boiling in salted water for 15 minutes, mushrooms can be cooked marinated or add various sauces and dressings to the dish. This method will make the chanterelle's bitter taste less noticeable. As a rule, you can get used to the specific taste of fruiting bodies if you constantly use them. But those who rarely eat chanterelles immediately notice the bitterness.
However, do not forget about an important factor that will help to avoid bitterness: pick mushrooms of small sizes with unopened caps!
Why are fried chanterelles bitter and what to do to get rid of the problem?
It often happens that even after frying, the chanterelles are bitter, why does this happen? When the hostess first encounters such problems, this leads her to bewilderment and doubts creep in about the edibility of mushrooms.
Why fried chanterelles are bitter is a very practical question. Perhaps the fact is that false chanterelles got into the mushrooms, which have a strong bitterness in the pulp, which spoiled the taste of all mushrooms. Therefore, if there is even a drop of doubt about which mushrooms you collected and cooked, it is better not to be tempted and throw them away.
Another option why chanterelles are bitter when frying is the lack of preliminary soaking of the mushrooms. This should be done immediately after cleaning: pour the mushroom harvest with cold water and leave for 1.5-2 hours. Then rinse with plenty of water, and then proceed to further processing.
Some culinary experts have noticed why the chanterelles remain bitter after frying.The peculiarity of such a problem is that the mushrooms, after being brought home, could be unprocessed for a long time, accumulating toxic substances in the pulp.
Before you start frying, the mushrooms are soaked, boiled in boiling salted water and only then fried. Although such processes require additional time, the bitterness inherent in chanterelles will definitely go away.
Why are chanterelles bitter after frying and can this be fixed?
What to do if fried chanterelles are bitter even after preliminary soaking and boiling? Perhaps the fruit bodies are burnt or have been fried in bitter sunflower oil. Then with such chanterelles you need to do the following: add sour cream or mayonnaise, spices and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. You can try to remedy the situation as follows: roll the boiled mushrooms in flour and cook in butter with the addition of sugar-fried onions.
The reasons for the bitterness remaining after frying may be completely different. When boiling, try putting a bag of dense fabric with spices in water: cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, fresh dill and parsley. If you have tried all the manipulations to remove the bitterness, but it still remains, throw the mushrooms away, not regretting the time spent and your efforts.
Why are dried chanterelles bitter and how to get rid of mushrooms from this lack?
If even after heat treatment the mushrooms have a bitter taste, then it is understandable why dried chanterelles are bitter. By their specificity, mushrooms already have bitterness in the pulp. In addition, chanterelles could grow in coniferous forests on a bed of moss, which enhances the bitter taste. The simple tips below will help you get rid of this deficiency in dried mushrooms.
First option - soaking the chanterelles in cold water with the addition of salt for 5-8 hours. In this case, the water should be changed 2-3 times a day to prevent acidification of the fruit bodies.
Second option - pour over the mushrooms with warm milk so that they completely cover the product, and leave for 2-3 hours.
In addition, after soaking, it is better to boil the chanterelles with the addition of citric acid and some spices: bay leaves, cloves, and dill umbrellas. Adding these ingredients will completely remove the bitterness from dried chanterelles.